Bean Burgers and Grinning Gorillas

Wednesday is here. That means only two more workdays and we’re headed for the weekend. I’ve had sort of a mixed up week at work so far. Thursday and Friday are sure to go quickly and then I’ll be able to get on to the real fun. It should be nearing the mid to high 70s this weekend, so I bet everyone will be out in the yard and getting things cleaned up. Pretty hard to believe it’s going to be that warm when my thermometer said 33 this morning! I would really like to get things ready to start planing some veggies for the summer. We have such a short growing season here in the Pacific Northwest, it’s all about timing. I think I am safe getting the pots ready for some mixed greens. My strawberry plants from last year have blooms on them. I’ll have to watch them and race the squirrels for the fruit when it ripens.

Monday I told you I was making a final attempt at a bean burger. Well, I made up the “meat” Monday evening so it was ready to turn into patties and cook on Tuesday. I would say SUCCESS has been achieved. I’ve tried to make many other veggie burgers — tofu, nut & seed, quinoa (which aren’t bad) — and haven’t been completely satisfied. Either the texture was off, they were dry or just were complete fails. As recipes seem to make the rounds, and especially with the internet, I try to give people credit when I know where it came from, so this one was given to me by a friend on Facebook. It came from her friend, Carrie, who is a fitness instructor and the owner of Puget Sound Fitness. From all appearances, she’s a healthy eater too. You can click here for the Black Bean Burger recipe. As always, you can also click on the picture and it will take you to the recipe too.

They are a little spicy, but it’s not a burn-the-heck-out-of-your-mouth spice. I leave out the onions so as to not send Healthy Hubby running, but you can feel free to add it in. The recipe calls for a jalapeno, but I used an Anaheim pepper. For some reason, the Anaheims I got this last time have a pretty good bite to them, but it’s a great addition. I made extra and have one in my lunch today and can hardly resist diving into my lunchbox at 9 a.m.! These freeze well, too. Served with baked sweet potato fries & fruit for dessert, we had the ultimate barbecue meal. (where’s the greens, you say? That was for lunch) What would have made it better? A slice of avocado is what we decided. Of course, that was after we’d scarfed them down! Next time. 🙂

Dessert anyone?

After dinner with fruit for dessert I was still feeling like I wanted something sweet — I’m a sweets addict and I know it — so I had a new “ice dream” that I’d made the day prior. I’m calling it Grinning Gorilla Ice Dream. I really wanted to call it “Monkey Bites,” but a local frozen treats retail store Cold Stone Creamery has a trademark on that name. So we did a little brainstorming and came up with Grinning Gorilla! I like it, as I’m a fan of alliterations. It’s a tasty concoction of peanut butter, chocolate & banana. Oh, yum!

Healthy Vegan Summer Challenge

Okay. Who is ready to jump start their health and get on the path to better living? You can join the Healthy Vegan Summer Challenge and be inspired by others who are on the same journey. It starts Monday, May 6th. It runs for just six weeks so the timing is perfect for summer. The hope is that during the six weeks we all make some changes in our habits — maybe creating new, healthier ones — and along the way learning more about this dietstyle. I know during the Spring Challenge I learned a lot about myself and food triggers that sometimes led to not-so-good eating behavior. The challenge runs via a Facebook page, but if you’re not on Facebook, don’t worry. I will be blogging about the challenge on Wednesdays and you can post here on my blog with questions. If you do have Facebook, check us out. The page is a private group, so you just need to ask to join and then be approved. Then you’re “in.” I hope to see you there.

The Healthy Vegan Summer Challenge is the brainchild of friend and fellow blogger, Carrie of Carrie on Vegan and Vegan Delish, the iPhone app. She’s an amazing motivator. She’s so amazing I’m thinking about getting an iPhone just so I can get her App. Anyway, after the Spring Challenge, she’s made some tweaks to the Summer Challenge and added a few people to help her in different topics (yours truly included). None of us are paid nor are we “experts” in any specific topic, we are just others who are on this journey too, have experience in changing our own lives and wish to share what works for us. I’m excited about this challenge as we plan to answer questions about fitness, self-care, and diet (of course). I hope to see you on the page.

What’s ahead:

Friday’s post will include some fun facts about nutrition (or exercise). I’m going to try to do this each week, just a little tidbit of information that I’ll share. So check back and see what I’ve got for you. I will also be telling you about a book I’m reading. It’s quite interesting.